filibusterism

filibusterism means piracy, freebooting; the waging of unauthorised war. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why “filibusterism” is a great word

FILIBUSTERISM — [Noun] The practice of undertaking unauthorized military expeditions into foreign territory, or, procedurally, the tactical use of prolonged speech to obstruct legislative action. From filibuster (from Spanish filibustero, "freebooter, pirate", from French flibustier, from Dutch vrijbuiter, "freebooter") + the suffix -ism (denoting a practice or system). First attested in 1854. Unlike "piracy," which denotes maritime banditry for plunder, or "obstructionism," a broad category of hindrance, filibusterism is the formalized application of lawless energy. It is the rustle of maps in a privateer's cabin, a senator's droning recitation of a cookbook in the small hours, and the hollow echo of a chamber emptied by sheer, exhausting talk—a testament to how the raw ambition of the freebooter was civilized into a tool for making nothing happen.

Etymology

From filibuster + -ism.

noun

Piracy, freebooting; the waging of unauthorised war.
The practice of forcefully and unauthorisedly acquiring control of foreign land.“All this was simply weakness; but in turning from the conduct of the Finances by the administration, to consider its management of Filibusterism, we pass from the consideration of acts of mere debility to the consideration of acts which have a color of duplicity in them. On the Filibusters, as on the Finances, the First Annual Message of the President was outspoken and forcible. It characterized t”
The practice of delaying legislation by filibuster or other obstructive tactics.